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Deer stands

09-12-2010, 06:06 PM

I am wanting to make some ladder stands. I have a lot of 1/8" x 1" square mild tubing, but I would like them to be lighter if at all possible. I am wanting to make them 15 feet from platform to the ground. What would be the best material for this project?

If anyone has any other info on building stands, such as plans, etc. I would really appreciate it. I am looking for any advice I can get.

something that really works well is some 1 1/2 inch conduit. either buy or rent a conduit bender and bend two 90 degree angles on one end of a couple 20' pieces of conduit and get some 1" conduit and flatten the edges after you cut them however wide you want them and weld them in as your rungs. then cut some plywood (i use treated) and bolt it to the top platform supports. i usually cut a v-notch in the middle of the platform to fit against the tree and we either use ratchet straps or rope with a cinch knot against the tree.

fairly cheap and the ones i have are about 7 years old, so they hold up pretty good.

Comment

something that really works well is some 1 1/2 inch conduit. either buy or rent a conduit bender and bend two 90 degree angles on one end of a couple 20' pieces of conduit and get some 1" conduit and flatten the edges after you cut them however wide you want them and weld them in as your rungs. then cut some plywood (i use treated) and bolt it to the top platform supports. i usually cut a v-notch in the middle of the platform to fit against the tree and we either use ratchet straps or rope with a cinch knot against the tree.

fairly cheap and the ones i have are about 7 years old, so they hold up pretty good.

I never thought of conduit. I can prolly buy light gauge mild steel at the yard for cheaper than conduit though. What gauge would you say it is? Do you have any pics of them?

Miller 180

>>>---Mat---->

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sorry bout no pics but i usually dont have time to get pics of them cause its last minute get em in the tree thing lol. but i would say that conduit is about 16 ga. and its galvanized so that it resists the rusting, but i paint them anyway. the bottoms of the wood platforms i use a mapp gass torch and charr it so its almost camo'd.

but its pretty easy to build and cheap. i think i usually make the rungs about 20 inches wide.

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I have seen lots of stands made from 3/4 inch tubing with about 1/16 wall thickness, in both aluminum and carbon steel, if it is bent and then trussed it is very strong. I know some guys that built some using only a picture from a Cabela's catalog and they used their own measurements and made them custom to suit their individual needs. That small tubing is very strong if the joint designs are good and if you weld them up using correct procedures.

I have a welding addiction

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Thanks for the replies, fellas. I am going to go with some 14 ga mild steel. I get it for 50 cents a foot. I will paint it when its done and they will be taken down every year, so rusting wont be a big issue. I have been looking on cabelas and basspro sites, they look super easy to make.

I can't afford to rent or have access to a bender, whats the best joint to make at the top of the ladder?

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This is an idea for a climber. It was mentioned above about using round tube. We made a few climbing stands our of EMT electrical conduit. It is light and strong. You have to be fairly proficient to weld it because it is thin but it makes a good stand. The next lower size usually slides well into the larger size so it is easy to make the part that goes around the tree and fit it into the seat part, same for the climber. You would have to use something more stout for a ladder stand however. I don't know what the # rating would be on the EMT climber - I was a little lighter then. I don't know if I would trust it now

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If I had know I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself.

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Thanks for the replies, fellas. I am going to go with some 14 ga mild steel. I get it for 50 cents a foot. I will paint it when its done and they will be taken down every year, so rusting wont be a big issue. I have been looking on cabelas and basspro sites, they look super easy to make.

I can't afford to rent or have access to a bender, whats the best joint to make at the top of the ladder?

Home Cheapo and sLowe's both sell inexpensive conduit benders. They're manual benders and use a pipe for the handle so you can make it as long as you need. I have several sizes and they work very well. EMT conduit is relatively thin wall and easy to bend. You might have to go one size bigger as if you were using rigid conduit to bend your 14 ga. but it'll get the job done for as much as you have to bend. I think the benders are under 20 bucks.

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For the Stand to be able to break down in sections you'll need some way to keep the sections together- where the sections meet, a Sleeve over the joint and pins through the 2 pieces will hold it together.

Comment

Home Cheapo and sLowe's both sell inexpensive conduit benders. They're manual benders and use a pipe for the handle so you can make it as long as you need. I have several sizes and they work very well. EMT conduit is relatively thin wall and easy to bend. You might have to go one size bigger as if you were using rigid conduit to bend your 14 ga. but it'll get the job done for as much as you have to bend. I think the benders are under 20 bucks.

For the Stand to be able to break down in sections you'll need some way to keep the sections together- where the sections meet, a Sleeve over the joint and pins through the 2 pieces will hold it together.

Yeah, I was wondering what would be the best thing to make the sleeve out of. Since it would have to fit tight, I can't go up with 1-1/2" square. Would some angle welded on to the tubing work?